Vampire's Pet

Chapter 24

I instinctively looked away as she turned her head to meet my gaze, focusing my attention back on the bird I was drawing.

I don't know why, but interacting with another pet seemed wrong to me.

No other Masters that I've seen had let their pets interact.

I'm sure that Nico probably wouldn't mind one way or the other, but it still just felt weird.

Maybe its because I haven't interacted with another human in 5 years. Even back then I wasn't very social.

"Khloe?" she finally spoke.

I was actually surprised to actually hear her voice for the first time.

It was soft, whether naturally or not I wasn't quite sure.

I lifted my gaze to meet hers.

She looked nervous, her eyes full of remorse.

"I'm sorry," she said.

My eyes widened at her words.

Only then did I understand the look she had on her face.

It was guilt.

My head tilted a bit at this whole thing.

"What?" I responded.

Why on earth is she apologizing?

Her eyes went down to her leash, her guilt more evident than ever.

"I-if I had known what Xander was going to do to you, I never would have-"

She cut herself off as soon as Nico entered back into the room, his eyes wide in some sort of realization.

"You've been faking it?" He asked, his voice showing a bit of anger.

Fear immediately crossed over her features at the tone of his voice.

"I-I um-"

He cut her off this time, becoming a blur before he was holding her against the wall by her torn-up shirt, her leash dangling inches from the ground.

I flinched back as this whole thing unraveled in front of me.

Does breaths began to speed up as she grabbed at his wrists.

"I-I didn't know t-that Xander was going to-"

"Just answer the question," Nico commanded through clenched teeth, pushing her harder against the wall.

She hesitated for a moment, apparently searching for the right words.

"N-Not at first!" She admitted, "I felt fine the day after w-we visited you, but I kept a-acting like I didn't so he w-wouldn't drink from me!"

My lips parted in surprise.

How did she lie to her Master, let alone mine?

She didn't seem like the kind of person to try and trick her Master, but given her circumstances and living conditions, she probably takes every opportunity she can get to get away from him.

I couldn't even be mad at what she did.

But Nico sure could.

I heard a growl rumble low in his throat.

"So because you didn't want to do what your Master wanted, you ended up getting my pet hurt. Is that what you're telling me?"

I grew nervous as I began to wonder if he was going to hurt her for this.

I didn't want him too, but I couldn't stop him if he did.

Her entire body trembled as she tried in vain to turn herself away from him.

"I didn't want this to happen I-I just didn't want to be fed from!"

She turned her head away squeezing her eyes shut, like she was expecting to be hit.

Apparently, Nico wasn't having any of that.

He grabbed her jaw with his other hand, forcing her to look at him.       

"You have a responsibility as a pet, Doe," He spoke lowly, "To give your Master what he needs so shit like this doesn't happen."

She let out a breathy whine as his grip tightened on her jaw.

"And don't ever drag my pet into something just because you're too selfish to deal with it yourself again."  he hissed.

She hurriedly nodded.

"W-why was she even alone in the hallway i-in the first place?" She asked like she was trying to piece something together.

Nico's eyes went wide before they returned to how they were before, dropping Doe to the floor.

She fell against the wall, leaning against it for support.

She kept her eyes glued to the floor, obviously too terrified to look him in the eye. She even flinched when he grabbed her leash.

"That's none of your concern."

Nico's eyes looked over at me for a second.

I hadn't even noticed that I was hugging my sketchbook against my body like it would have protected me from any of that.

I'm sure the look on my face told him enough about how I was feeling.

He let out a sigh, looking back at Doe before he turned towards the door, dragging her along with him.

He was undoubtedly taking her back to Xander.

I mentally begged him not to tell Xander what he discovered. She already had so much to deal with.

Before I could even say anything, they were gone.